Electrocortical activity associated with subjective communication with the deceased
📄 Original study📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Can mediums really talk to the dead? This groundbreaking study -- the first combining EEG brain recordings with double-blind accuracy testing -- investigated. Six certified mediums received only a deceased person's first name and answered 25 questions while brain activity was recorded. Startlingly, three of four scored above chance, with one achieving a jaw-dropping 46.8% accuracy advantage. Brain data offered an intriguing clue: one medium showed a link between frontal theta waves (slow rhythms tied to deep focus) and accuracy -- as theta decreased, accuracy went up. A tantalizing hint at a neural signature of the "receptive" state mediums describe, though appearing in just one medium, it shouldn't be overinterpreted. A second experiment found all six mediums' brains differed across four mental states -- communicating, recalling, perceiving, and fabricating -- though some effects might reflect muscle artifacts.
Research Notes
First published EEG study of mediumship accuracy under double-blind conditions. Extends Beischel's Windbridge accuracy protocol with neurophysiological measures. The M1 theta-accuracy finding offers a candidate neural correlate of the 'receptive' state mediums describe, but only appeared in one of six mediums. Speaks to Controversy #6 (mediumship) on the Pro side. IONS/Windbridge collaboration with Radin and Beischel as co-authors.
Six Windbridge Certified Research Mediums underwent two experiments combining double-blind accuracy testing with 32-channel EEG recording. In Experiment 1, each medium was given only the first name of a deceased person and answered 25 questions during 20-second silent intervals optimized for movement-free EEG collection. Blinded sitters scored both target and decoy transcripts. Three of four evaluated mediums scored significantly above chance (M5: +46.8% accuracy difference, p < 0.00005; M1: +14.2%, p = 0.008; M2: +3.1%, Wilcoxon p = 0.004). Medium M1 showed a significant correlation between frontal theta power and accuracy (p < 0.01, cluster-corrected), with theta decreasing monotonically as accuracy increased. In Experiment 2, all six mediums showed significant EEG differences across four mental states (communication, recollection, perception, fabrication), primarily in gamma and beta bands, though gamma effects could not be distinguished from muscle artifacts.
Links
Related Papers
Same Research Program
- Intuitive Assessment of Mortality Based on Facial Characteristics: Behavioral, Electrocortical, and Machine Learning Analyses — Delorme, Arnaud (2018)
- Electrocortical Activity Prior to Unpredictable Stimuli in Meditators and Non-Meditators — Radin, Dean I (2011)
- Exceptional Experiences Reported by Scientists and Engineers — Wahbeh, Helané (2018)
Companion
- Anomalous Information Reception by Research Mediums Under Blinded Conditions II: Replication and Extension — Beischel, Julie (2015)
- Some Directions for Mediumship Research — Kelly, Emily Williams (2010)
- Neuroimaging during Trance State: A Contribution to the Study of Dissociation — Peres, Julio Fernando (2012)
- Advancing the Evidence for Survival of Consciousness — Delorme, Arnaud (2021)
- The measurement of regional cerebral blood flow during glossolalia: A preliminary SPECT study — Newberg, Andrew B (2006)
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📋 Cite this paper
Delorme, Arnaud, Beischel, Julie, Michel, Leena, Boccuzzi, Mark, Radin, Dean, Mills, Paul J (2013). Electrocortical activity associated with subjective communication with the deceased. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00834
@article{delorme_2013_electrocortical,
title = {Electrocortical activity associated with subjective communication with the deceased},
author = {Delorme, Arnaud and Beischel, Julie and Michel, Leena and Boccuzzi, Mark and Radin, Dean and Mills, Paul J},
year = {2013},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00834},
}